Opinion by Jos Dings. So now it’s official – the EU’s biofuel policy is not only counterproductive for the environment, it is also a massive economic drag. A new study we put out on 17 April shows that, on a total turnover in the range of €16bn, the sector receives about €10bn in public support per year.
MEPs have sent a signal that car makers will have to meet fuel efficiency targets by both 2020 and 2025. Although the decision still has to be confirmed by the full European Parliament, EU member states and Commission, the move lays down a marker that the average new car should need less than three litres to drive 100km by 2025. Environmental groups have welcomed the vote, but say it does not go far enough to drive zero-emission cars into the market.
The total annual public support for biofuels production in Europe is around €10 billion, equivalent to a bailout of Cyprus every year, according to a new report. T&E says the finding confirms that most biofuels on the market today are not only bad for the environment but do not help Europe’s economy either. The report comes as the leading MEP in the environment committee of the European Parliament has proposed to classify different biofuels according to their environmental impacts by including their emissions from so-called indirect land-use change (ILUC).
The world’s first study into the impact of climate change on turbulence says flights will become less smooth, which may in turn lead to increased fuel consumption and more climate-changing emissions. The study says the increase in greenhouse gases will create changes to jet streams that will lead to more ‘clear air turbulence’.
Three quarters of goods in the EU are carried by road. Whilst only 3 percent of vehicles, lorries account for 25 percent of road transport CO2 emissions in Europe. Over the past 20 years the fuel efficiency of lorries has hardly improved1 and lorries are also involved in a disproportionate number (18%) of fatal accidents. One reason for this poor track record is the very blunt, hence unsafe and unstreamlined, front end of Europe’s lorries. This situation is caused by EU law, Directive 96/53, which constrains the maximum length of cabins. The European Commission has proposed to change this law to allow slightly longer lorry cabs, so their safety and aerodynamic performance can be improved. T&E strongly supports this move. This briefing illustrates the urgent need for smarter design and the benefits of such a change.
In 2009, the EU set legally binding targets for new cars to emit on average 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer (g/km) by 2015 and 95g/km in 2020. The way the 2020 target will be met is presently being considered by the European Parliament and Council following a Commission proposal in 2012. The Commission proposed to reintroduce a system of “supercredits”, which proponents say will encourage supply of ultralow carbon vehicles (ULCVs), such as battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars. Supercredits however also allow carmakers to supply less fuel-efficient conventional cars, weakening the emission target. This paper outlines the potential effects of different proposals for supercredits on the 95g target to help inform policymakers. It is based upon the results of an independent analysis of the options by Ricardo-AEA.
Cash-strapped EU Member States spent €10bn in 2011, a sum as big as the Cyprus bailout, in support of the biofuels industry, a new study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) reveals. This public support was necessary to sustain the 4.5% market share biofuels had in 2011 – slightly below the 5% freeze proposed by the European Commission half a year ago.
Europe is reforming its biofuels policy due to concerns raised about its impact on global land use change patterns and global food markets. The negative environmental impacts of the biofuels policy have been well demonstrated, but what is less clear are the economic implications. T&E, the EEB, BirdLife Europe and IISD have therefore funded this report to evaluate the costs and the benefits of the EU’s biofuels policy and its implications for the EU governments and citizens, who are currently facing economic hardship.
Proposals to lower CO2 emissions are currently being considered by the Environment Committee of the European Parlaiment. The amount of CO2 cars emit is directly related to the amount of fuel the vehicle consumes – lower carbon vehicles therefore use less fuel and are cheaper to run. This briefing outlines why 95g in the regulation should mean cars on average achieve 95g on the road and why flexibilities are unnecessary and counterproductive.
Monitoring of fuel consumption and GHG emissions from international shipping is currently under discussion at the EU level as well as at the IMO. There are several approaches to monitoring, each with different characteristics. Important differences exist with regards to the costs of the equipment, operational costs, the accuracy of the measurements, and the potential to monitor emissions of gases other than CO2. Moreover, some approaches offer more opportunities to improve the operational fuel-efficiency of ships and fit better to possible future policies than others.The following report discusses these approaches.